Fruitful Fun Fluenthttps://fruitfulfunfluent.com
Language coaching for independent learnersThu, 15 Nov 2018 13:50:28 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/cropped-favicon-2-32x32.pngFruitful Fun Fluenthttps://fruitfulfunfluent.com
3232151597345Language Learners Should Be Scared of Speaking – with Special Guest Anja from thelanguage-Strategist.comhttps://fruitfulfunfluent.com/language-learners-should-be-scared-of-speaking/
https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/language-learners-should-be-scared-of-speaking/#respondWed, 12 Sep 2018 11:20:31 +0000https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/?p=393In this episode I'm joined by a special guest Anja who runs the blog 'thelanguage-Strategist.com' to talk about the role of fear in language learning. As language learners it's common to experience fear especially around speaking, so today we're talking about it!

In this episode I’m joined by a special guest Anja who runs the blog ‘thelanguage-Strategist.com’ to talk about the role of fear in language learning. As language learners it’s common to experience fear especially around speaking, so today we’re talking about it!

]]>https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/language-learners-should-be-scared-of-speaking/feed/0393Can anyone learn a language and do you need to have a talent for languages?https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/can-anyone-learn-a-language-and-do-you-need-to-have-a-talent-for-languages/
https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/can-anyone-learn-a-language-and-do-you-need-to-have-a-talent-for-languages/#respondTue, 11 Sep 2018 17:02:11 +0000https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/?p=388I've always enjoyed those podcasts where I feel like I really get to know someone and for me a lot of that comes from knowing what has made them the person they are today, and so in this first podcast episode I wanted to give an introduction to myself and how I came to be working in languages. I also discus the types of people who can be successful languages learners, what the role of talent plays, and the most important things you need to be able to learn.

I’ve always enjoyed those podcasts where I feel like I really get to know someone and for me a lot of that comes from knowing what has made them the person they are today, and so in this first podcast episode I wanted to give an introduction to myself and how I came to be working in languages. I also discus the types of people who can be successful languages learners, what the role of talent plays, and the most important things you need to be able to learn.

In this episode I mention my business coach Dan Johnston. Dan does more than just business coaching, he has an incredibly motivating story and a great sense of humour. You can check out everything he does on his website dreamsaroundtheworld.com Or check out his YouTube channel and Podcast @ Dreams Around The World.

WOULD YOU LOVE THIS TO BE YOU?

How awesome would it be if you could walk into a coffee shop and whether in Paris, Rome, Prague, or any other place you’re chatting to the locals? Imagine you’re in Paris, and so coffee in hand you linger there talking to the owner in French about a film you saw last night. But, you had the same French class as me, the Tricolore textbook with the flag. I would stare at it hoping a little beret wearing French man would spring out to liven things up. Fingers cramping from long vocab lists and grammar rules dutifully copied from the board, longing for the last three minutes of class when we got to utter the six words we’d been practicing all term

“Café au lait s’il vous plaît”

We knew it must be a phrase of great importance in France, why else would Mrs smith have dedicated an entire term to it!

WHAT LANGUAGES DO YOU DREAM OF?

Perhaps for you it’s travelling through South America using Spanish and Portuguese, a rail journey across Europe changing language with each country, or maybe you just want to understand what your Czech girlfriend’s father is actually saying about you!

SO HOW CAN I HELP YOU?

LANGUAGE FITNESS COACHING

I coach people on how to learn languages. If you have a question about language learning, my coaching, or even if you want to set up a chat over Skype about it feel free to contact me. Here is how you can get in touch.

]]>https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/can-anyone-learn-a-language-and-do-you-need-to-have-a-talent-for-languages/feed/0388Trailerhttps://fruitfulfunfluent.com/trailer/
https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/trailer/#respondTue, 11 Sep 2018 12:02:20 +0000https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/?p=352Find out what we'll be talking about on the FruitfulFunFluent podcast and what the most important thing you need to be able to learn another language is.

]]>https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/trailer/feed/0352How many HOURS should I STUDY for?https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/how-much-time-learn-language/
https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/how-much-time-learn-language/#respondWed, 05 Sep 2018 13:25:28 +0000https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/?p=341In this video I talk about how long you should be spending on learning a language each day along with how to know the best times of day to learn. How can I help you? I help people to start speaking the languages they dream of and have the confidence to speak with native speakers. […]

In this video I talk about how long you should be spending on learning a language each day along with how to know the best times of day to learn.

How can I help you?

I help people to start speaking the languages they dream of and have the confidence to speak with native speakers. I help you stay motivated and accountable.

I coach people on fun ways to learn languages, and help them to find the ways that best suit their personalities and lifestyle so that they can reach their speaking goals without getting bogged down by memorizing long vocab lists and lots of grammar rules.

]]>https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/how-much-time-learn-language/feed/0341HOW to become FLUENThttps://fruitfulfunfluent.com/language-learning-basics/
https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/language-learning-basics/#respondWed, 05 Sep 2018 13:12:23 +0000https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/?p=338 In this video I talk about why it’s important to take time to go over the basics and not rush when learning a language. Learning a language is not a race, and it’s actually better to take time to get a real feel for the language rather than trying to quickly cram all the […]

In this video I talk about why it’s important to take time to go over the basics and not rush when learning a language. Learning a language is not a race, and it’s actually better to take time to get a real feel for the language rather than trying to quickly cram all the information into our brains like we did in language classes at school.

WOULD YOU LOVE THIS TO BE YOU?

How awesome would it be if you could walk into a coffee shop and whether in Paris, Rome, Prague, or any other place you’re chatting to the locals? Imagine you’re in Paris, and so coffee in hand you linger there talking to the owner in French about a film you saw last night.

But, you had the same French class as me, the Tricolore textbook with the flag. I would stare at it hoping a little beret wearing French man would spring out to liven things up. Fingers cramping from long vocab lists and grammar rules dutifully copied from the board, longing for the last three minutes of class when we got to utter the six words we’d been practicing all term

“Café au lait s’il vous plaît”

We knew it must be a phrase of great importance in France, why else would Mrs smith have dedicated an entire term to it.

WHAT LANGUAGES DO YOU DREAM OF?

Perhaps for you it’s travelling through South America using Spanish and Portuguese, a rail journey across Europe changing language with each country, or maybe you just want to understand what your Czech girlfriend’s father is actually saying about you!

HOW CAN I HELP YOU?

I help people to start speaking the languages they dream of and have the confidence to speak with native speakers. I help you stay motivated and accountable. I coach people on fun ways to learn languages, and help them to find the ways that best suit their personalities and lifestyle so that they can reach their speaking goals without getting bogged down by memorizing long vocab lists and lots of grammar rules.

I won`t judge you if you want to vent about things such as how ridiculously complicated the French language is, or “Oh god why can`t we just get rid of this whole masculine/feminine business!” I cannot be the only person who thinks this!

I will help keep you accountable and give you a friendly kick up the butt when you need it!

]]>https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/language-learning-basics/feed/0338LANGUAGE Learning ROUTINEhttps://fruitfulfunfluent.com/variety-when-learning-languages/
https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/variety-when-learning-languages/#respondWed, 05 Sep 2018 13:01:36 +0000https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/?p=335In this video I give some advice in answer to an email from another of my wonderful subscribers who is passionate about learning a language but is bored studying. I talk about how I would go about solving this problem. I coach people on how to learn languages concentrating on fun ways that are most […]

In this video I give some advice in answer to an email from another of my wonderful subscribers who is passionate about learning a language but is bored studying. I talk about how I would go about solving this problem.

I coach people on how to learn languages concentrating on fun ways that are most suited to your individual learning styles and daily schedules.

]]>https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/variety-when-learning-languages/feed/0335The dreaded INTERMEDIATE PLATEAU. It’s NOT YOU it’s NORMALhttps://fruitfulfunfluent.com/the-dreaded-intermediate-plateau-its-not-you-its-normal/
https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/the-dreaded-intermediate-plateau-its-not-you-its-normal/#respondWed, 05 Sep 2018 12:51:32 +0000https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/?p=330There comes a point when learning a language where it feels like no matter how hard you try and how much you work you just don’t get any better. We call them PLATEAU’S. One of the BIGGEST and most FRUSTRATING is the one going from being at an INTERMEDIATE level in the language to being […]

There comes a point when learning a language where it feels like no matter how hard you try and how much you work you just don’t get any better. We call them PLATEAU’S. One of the BIGGEST and most FRUSTRATING is the one going from being at an INTERMEDIATE level in the language to being at an ADVANCED level.

Most people give up at this point.

I’m now at this plateau with my Afrikaans but NO WAY am I going to give up! In this video I share my frustrations with being at an intermediate level and how I’m going about working through this to reach ADVANCED.

I coach people on how to learn languages concentrating on fun ways that are most suited to your individual learning styles and daily schedules.

]]>https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/the-dreaded-intermediate-plateau-its-not-you-its-normal/feed/0330INCREASE Your MOTIVATIONhttps://fruitfulfunfluent.com/learning-a-language-you-hate-can-you-turn-head-into-heart-motivation/
https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/learning-a-language-you-hate-can-you-turn-head-into-heart-motivation/#respondWed, 05 Sep 2018 12:27:37 +0000https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/?p=327Today I'm answering a question I had after my video "Head vs Heart Motivation" This is a fantastic question and it comes from one of my subscribers Katie. Katie thank you so much for asking. The question was “is it possible to turn extrinsic motivation into intrinsic motivation?” Well. my short answer is...

Today I’m answering a question I had after my video “Head vs Heart Motivation” This is a fantastic question and it comes from one of my subscribers Katie. Katie thank you so much for asking. The question was “is it possible to turn extrinsic motivation into intrinsic motivation?”

To give you a bit of a backstory Katie is having to learn French at school, she’s not enjoying it at all but she has to keep it up to pass her exams. This was not something I’d ever thought about before and it made me do a lot of thinking. My short answer is yes I think it could be possible to turn extrinsic motivation into intrinsic motivation, because there can be times when we have to learn a language that we’re not passionate about.

Obviously it’s much better if you can learn a language that you are intrinsically passionate about from the beginning, but if you’re not then yes I think it might be possible to turn extrinsic motivation, having to learn for logical reasons such as work or to add a skill to your resume, I think it could be possible to turn it into intrinsic motivation.

So how would I go about it?

Firstly I would look at my hobbies. So for instance I’m interested in golf, so if I had to learn French I would try to find articles on golf in French. Or I would go onto Google and I would look at golf courses in France. I’d look at the vocabulary they were using and try to build my interest for French that way. So I’d look at the vocabulary and the sentence structures and then dissect them. And you can do this whatever your interests are, so if you’re interested in cooking you can find french recipes, or if you’re interested in a particular point in history you could find articles on it in French. For beginners this might seem difficult, but you can take the article first word for word, and then sentence for sentence and dissect it that way. So although you might not be interested in the language you will be interested in the topic and that would be what would drive you to learn, and to want to be around the language.

Secondly, which I think is even more powerful, I would try to build up a connection with somebody whom you can communicate with in your target language. I think the biggest and most powerful reason for wanting to learn a language is to use it to connect with people. When finding someone to speak with make sure you enjoy speaking to them. A good indicator of this is if you both spoke the same language would you still want to chat to that person? If the answer is yes then you’ve found the right person. Websites like italki.com are great for finding language partners or community tutors. Even some less formal teachers will happily let you practice conservation with them. I would say to veer away from traditional teachers as they are likely to be very grammar focused, and that’s not going to help you when you are trying to develop your passion for a language.

I did make a video on how to find people to practice speaking with, it’s called “Speaking to Actual People When Learning a Language” and you can find it on my Youtube channel. Here is the link https://youtu.be/WKxOWCfzONM

And thirdly it’s very easy to get stuck in your own little bubble. I’ve been very guilty of this recently with my Afrikaans. It’s easy to stay stuck at your desk with your books and CDs, just doing listening, writing and reading and not really use the language. And that’s a really quick way to get yourself bored and demotivated because the magic of language happens when you actually use it. Nothing feels better than speaking to somebody and thinking “Holy cow I’m actually speaking this language!” You need that spark of excitement because that’s what’s going to help to keep you motivated.

So to recap.

1)Think about what your hobbies and interests are and try to find material on them in your target language.

2)Find somebody who you can connect with and talk to. If they share your same interests as well then that’s even more powerful.

3)Use the language. This goes hand in hand with number two, finding someone to talk to. Don’t stay shut away use the language whether it be verbally talking to somebody, or with the internet you can find Facebook groups, Instagrammers, or YouTubers in your target language and interact with them online. But keep in mind that speaking face to face, or over Skype is going to be much better than writing.

If anybody else has any other ideas then please share them and Katie let me know what your experiences were and thank you again for the question.

If anybody else has any more questions then please feel free to ask. If this has been helpful then please give it a like and feel free to share it so that we can all learn from each other.

]]>https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/learning-a-language-you-hate-can-you-turn-head-into-heart-motivation/feed/0327HEAD vs HEART Motivation Why you might be FAILING at LANGUAGE LEARNINGhttps://fruitfulfunfluent.com/head-vs-heart-motivation-language-learning/
https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/head-vs-heart-motivation-language-learning/#respondTue, 04 Sep 2018 14:00:26 +0000https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/?p=314There’s two types of motivation Intrinsic motivation and Extrinsic motivation, you can almost think of them as head and heart motivations, or logical and illogical motivations.

So If you’re struggling to learn a language be honest about what your motivations are. I struggled to learn French for ten years at school and then for a further two years as an adult. In those two years as an adult I was....

There’s two types of motivation Intrinsic motivation and Extrinsic motivation, you can almost think of them as head and heart motivations, or logical and illogical motivations.

Extrinsic, or head, or logical motivation is learning a language for reasons such as furthering your career, to add another skill to your resume, or to look impressive in front of your friends because who doesn’t want that! They are all rational reasons, they make sense, they’re obvious to people from the outside and quite often they’re measurable.

Intrinsic motivation comes from within, it comes from your heart and like falling in love it’s not necessarily logical or rational, and is driven by emotion not reason. It’s having a passion for the language and a desire to learn it for the language itself, or the culture and people attached to it.

I think Intrinsic motivation is real motivation because it comes from such a personal place. Yes it’s nice to have the extrinsic benefits of speaking another language, I’m not saying that extrinsic motivation is bad, but from my own experience intrinsic motivation is what’s going to carry you further, it’s what’s going to keep you going when things get difficult because it’s driven more by emotion and passion rather than reason, and from my own experience emotion and passion are a much more powerful motivator than reason.

So If you’re struggling to learn a language be honest about what your motivations are. I struggled to learn French for ten years at school and then for a further two years as an adult. In those two years as an adult I was also learning Afrikaans which I was doing really well with but French I was struggling with. I knew I could learn a language because of the Afrikaans so I looked at my motivation, it was all extrinsic. It made sense for me to learn French because of the UK being so close to France, and from a business point of view it makes sense for me to speak French. Living in the UK there’s no reason for me to learn Afrikaans but I just feel a pull to the language, I love it, I love the sound, the people attached to it, and so it’s much more of an intrinsic motivation and that’s what’s allowed me to get as far with it as I have with it. With the French it was all extrinsic motivations.

To show you how powerful intrinsic motivation is. Three weeks ago I switched from French to Spanish. I’ve always had a love for Spanish dance and music. I really enjoy Latino music. I’m interested in Latin America, and my fondest memories of childhood are our holidays to Spain. I feel a strong pull towards the language that I didn’t feel towards French. Also a good friend of mine is from mexico, her native language is Spanish and although she speaks fluent English I would love to be able to communicate with her in her native language as well. I’ve been learning Spanish for just three weeks and already I can say the same amount in Spanish as I can in French after 12 years. So it just shows how powerful intrinsic motivation is.

Also with Spanish there’s been an intrinsic and an extrinsic motivation. It would make far more sense for me to learn Castilian Spanish because of how close the UK is to Europe but because of my friend, and just because I’m more interested in Latin American than I am in Spain I’ve got more of an emotional pull to learn Latin American Spanish, so I’ve been concentrating on Spanish from Mexico.

If you’re struggling to learn a language then go back and just be honest with yourself about what your motivation is. There’s nothing wrong with Extrinsic motivations but Intrinsic motivation I feel is what really carries you through and gets you results.

Let my know if you’ve had a similar experience with motivation and also what languages you’re learning and your reasons for learning them as well. see you soon, Bye for now.

]]>https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/head-vs-heart-motivation-language-learning/feed/0314HOW to START learning a NEW LANGUAGEhttps://fruitfulfunfluent.com/right-way-learn-language/
https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/right-way-learn-language/#respondMon, 03 Sep 2018 09:59:14 +0000https://fruitfulfunfluent.com/?p=296In this video I talk about the right way to learn a language. Is there such a thing? Well one thing's for sure - there is a fun and effective way to quickly get you communicating in your chosen language...